The Cost is So Much More than One Can Bear
by ladipretender
Summary: Shawn Spencer never thought he'd fall in love, and he certainly never imagined it would come in the form of a spunky blonde detective who stole his seat, as well as his heart, one day. But what will he do when someone threatens that love? His friends just might see a side of Shawn they never would have imagined even existed...originally published on PF.
1. It's the Bitter Taste of Losing Everythi

Ok, so not quite sure where my notes went when I attempted to upload this earlier...but I am certainly hoping this works this time. I originally posted this on Psychfic, but decided to share it with the FF community as well. It's a short, drabblish story I was compelled to write over a period of a few weeks, and, though it really has no point, the question always arose in my mind just what would Shawn risk to keep Juliet safe...

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"Where. _Is_. **_She_**?" He demanded quietly, staring down the cocky man across from him while Gus, Henry, Lassiter and the chief discreetly tried to figure out if the department's most unique consultant had finally lost it...and what they could do to stop him if he truly had.

"Go fuck yourself," was the automatic reply by the shaggy haired man, not truly believing the hazel eyed man would actually do anything to him.

"Wrong. Answer." Shawn retorted in a deadly calm voice, bringing up the Smith and Wesson purposefully and pulling the trigger, ignoring both the downed man's howl of pain as he clutched his bloody knee and the shocked outbursts from the others in the room as they tried to jump into action.

"You shot me, you...**_psycho!_**" the injured man screamed in disbelief, hastily hobbling backward as Shawn advanced menacingly, pistol at the ready.

"We're going to try this again," the livid man continued calmly as if the brown eyed man's outburst never happened, mentally keeping track of his father and Lassie as they tried, and failed, to stealthily advance on him. Shifting his stance, Shawn once again demanded information, voice growing in volume as he went along. "Where. **_Is. SHE?"_**

"I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about, you deranged lunatic," the injured man insisted, not nearly as confident as he'd been a few moments ago, before the crazy man with the gun had put an extra hole in him, but still not willing to reveal the information he had.

"Well then, let me refresh your memory," Shawn answered simply, moving just enough to once again stop the slow advance of the two men on the other side of the room. "36 hours ago, six year old Cynthia Traeger was playing in the park, when a couple of men in suits grabbed her and a woman they _thought _was her nanny, threw them in an unmarked van and sped off. I know you know where she is, and you **_are_** going to tell me, or you are going to lose your other knee," bringing up the pistol menacingly. When silence was his only response, he squeezed the trigger once again, completely focused on finding Cynthia and Jules, the sooner the better.

Secretly reveling in the other man's howl of pain, Shawn kneeled next to the downed man, knowing he wasn't going to have long before the two determined men succeeded in overpowering him and he **_needed_** to get this location if it was the last thing he did...because in all likelihood it **_was_** going to be just that. _Seriously doubt I will be able to talk my way out of this one..._Shawn admitted with a sad shake of his head, all the while aware that he wouldn't change a single thing if he had the opportunity, _Not if it means Jules will be safe. _"Last chance," he ground out pressing the gun against the injured man's chest, "You either tell me where she is, or I _will_ kill you," applying pressure to the trigger.

"OK, _OK, __**OK!**_" the brown eyed man shrieked, seriously fearing for his life at the hands of the unwavering man above him, "They're at the old warehouse at the corner of Helena and Montecito! Just get the hell off me, man!" The same moment that Henry and Lassiter finally made it across the space, each grabbing one of Shawn's arms, as he pulled the trigger one last time before he was disarmed, cuffed, and led out of the room, passing several EMTs he recognized by sight.

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The relief Juliet felt as her friends and co workers rushed into the abandoned warehouse in the nick of time, guns drawn and surrounding the kidnappers was short lived when she noted the absence of Shawn, Gus and Henry. And it was obliterated completely when she finally had a moment with Carlton a half hour later, after she'd given her statement to an officer and been cleared by the medics, only to stare at her partner as if he'd suddenly grown a second head, trying to process what she swore she'd heard him say. _Shawn, her fun loving, caring, happy go lucky boyfriend had shot a guy __**three**__ times, killing him and was in jail? All in order to find her and Cynthia? _There simply had to be some mistake, because there was no way, even with Henry, Gus, the chief, and Lassie's matching accounts that it was even remotely possible. Straightening her spine, she brought herself up to her full height and demanded, "Take me to him," with such a fierce expression that her partner acquiesced without an argument.

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There is the first of three parts, and I would love to know what people think, even if it's to tell me just how confusing the section really is...this is my first attempt at posting on , and it's going to take a bit of getting used to the different steps to upload, but I'll get the hang of it sooner rather than later. :)


	2. In the Lonely Light of Morning

**I think I forgot to say this in the first chapter, but none of them are mine, not a single one, so please don't sue me, because I really don't own anything more than a bunch of debt...I just like to borrow the characters from time to time. :) **

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"I just don't get it, Carlton," she said four hours later as she stared at Shawn on the other side of the two way glass. Though she had tried everything she could think of to see her boyfriend, apparently he wasn't allowed to receive visitors, a fact that had even the chief at a loss. And, while he had done so in the past, this time he gave absolutely no indication that he was aware he was being observed, instead choosing to focus on twirling something in his hands as he sat more still than Juliet had ever seen him at the table in the interrogation room. Heart breaking as she watched him, she once again longed to know exactly what happened, knowing there wasn't a single thing she could do to get to the bottom of this.

"Well, honestly, O'Hara, neither do I," the head detective admitted quietly, having given up on trying to talk the blonde into getting more medical attention than the cursory glance she'd allowed the EMTs on the scene, and settled for keeping an eye on her as she watched the hazel eyed man through the glass. _Because it might be the last time she'd see him outside of prison, _he thought,_ If she ever decided to visit him, that was,_ still unable to figure out just what the hell had happened earlier that evening, and reconcile the Shawn Spencer he knew with the man who'd taken drastic action at the warehouse. _And I was __**there**__, _Lassiter mused, understanding just what part of the story his partner was have such difficulty accepting.

After a few minutes, the partners went back to sitting in silence once again, the sound of the observation room door opening and closing unnaturally loud in the space. Glancing over to see who had joined them, Juliet wasn't surprised to see Gus pull up a chair next to hers. "Hey, Gus," she quietly greeted, not really sure if she expected a response from the subdued man.

His eyes never leaving his best friend in the other room, the pharmaceutical salesman softly spoke, "Lassiter, Juliet, how are you?"

Though the lanky man stayed silent, Juliet gave Gus the first answer that came to mind, "I'll live," which was so grossly inadequate after the events of the last 48 hours, but she honestly didn't know if she would ever really be the same again, especially if she wasn't able to get to the bottom of exactly what happened while she was gone. And the junior detective had a sinking suspicion that Gus, or even possibly Carlton though he'd never admit it, was feeling the same way. "How about you?"

"About the same, I guess," he answered after a moment.

The conversation fizzled out and the trio fell into a tense silence, each knowing that they should get back to other duties, but unable to quite muster the energy to do so. It was a few minutes later when the door swung inward once again, revealing Buzz McNab, an apologetic look on his face for barging in, followed almost immediately by Henry, who shut the door softly behind him. For several long moments no one spoke, the two new additions standing in the background while Juliet resisted the urge to pace, tapping her foot in frustration as the heavy door opened one last time. _Wow, we're really going to get a full house in here, aren't we..._she thought, correctly guessing that it would be Chief Vick behind the swinging piece of metal, though the junior detective still didn't have the faintest clue what exactly each person was doing in the small space. _Unless everyone else is as uncomfortable about this whole thing as I am and just doesn't have the first clue where to go from here. _

As the door softly shut behind the Chief of Police, the tired looking blonde cleared her throat meaningfully but didn't continue as something on the other side of the glass caught her attention.

"_Isn't that...?"_ Lassiter exclaimed in disbelief.

"**_Yes..._**" Henry, Gus and the chief all answered in unison while Juliet and Buzz looked on in confusion.

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**Technically, there is only one more chapter of this, at which point I marked it complete, but lately I have been debating adding a fourth...and depending on my readers, and what they would like to see, will dictate if it will be three or four chapters. :D **


	3. Lead them through the Fire to the Long

Still not mine, still wish they were, and here is the third, and technically final, chapter to Cost...but depending on how my readers respond will decide if I do one more chapter as a way of explanation...People on PF didn't tell me what they thought about it, so I never bothered to do one last chapter. Enjoy ;)

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"_Here_ you are, I've been looking everywhere for you, man!" Kelvin demanded grumpily as he burst into the room, leaving the door open behind him. "What the hell are you still **_doing _**in here?!"

Ignoring the question for the moment, Shawn spoke for the first time in over four hours without bothering to look up, "Why are you still dressed like that?"

Blinking a few times at the abrupt question, as well as the seated man's ability to continually know what was going on without even looking, Kelvin glanced down at the outfit that had started the day on the rack, before being deliberately destroyed. "Guess I'm making a fashion statement, my friend."

Shaking his head softly, Shawn thought over the other man's answer before replying, "So you've been walking around the station like that? Just how many people did you traumatize on your search?"

"None, surprisingly," Kelvin admitted, causing Shawn to raise an amused eyebrow as he glanced up, "I came straight from the morgue, which I felt like I never left, because the rest of this place was completely dead. Oh," he remarked, snapping his fingers as a thought occurred to him, "That reminds me, I think your coroner might be in for a pretty big shock when he gets back and one of his bodies has mysteriously disappeared..."

"Woody?" The hazel eyed man asked with a tired smile, "I wouldn't worry about him, he's a true conspiracy theorist. Give him five minutes and he'll be spinning a story that's a mix between government cover up and alien abduction to explain that."

Any comeback died on the brown eyed man's lips when the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching reached their ears. Kelvin glanced up to meet the startled eyes of the coroner, whose expression, had the situation been different, would have been extremely comical.

"Woody, this is Kelvin," Shawn said from his seat, stifling a yawn, "Kelvin, this is the department's coroner, Dr. Woodrow Strode...but everyone calls him Woody."

The men watched as Woody processed the information before finally speaking, "Wait a minute, I thought you were Vinnie McVitie," he said, gesturing toward Kelvin, "Of course, I was _also_ under the impression that you were dead," eyeing the bloody clothing the muscular man was wearing.

"It's kinda a long story," Kelvin began quietly, wondering if he'd just fallen into the twilight zone when the coroner spoke again without missing a beat.

"I figure it's safe to eliminate alien abduction this time," the coroner remarked before leaning in conspiratorially, "So what kind of government cover up we talking about here, guys?"

Instead of answering, Kelvin turned to Shawn and demanded, "How do you **_do_** that?!"

Shrugging sleepily, the faux psychic stretched in his seat and turned toward a disappointed Woody, "I wouldn't really classify it was a cover up, Woody," Shawn started hesitantly, at a bit of a loss on exactly how to explain everything, _No time like the present to do a practice run..._"More like I called in a favor from an old friend."

"OK..." Woody answered, before a thought suddenly occurred to him, "But then where's the _real_ Vinnie McVitie?"

"In federal custody," Kelvin supplied when Shawn remained silent.

"Ah, so you're a _Fed_," the coroner remarked, giving the brown eyed man an assessing look before glancing at Shawn in question.

"Don't even think it, man, the answer is a resounding no," the hazel eyed man piped up when it seemed that the coroner might be going down that road.

"Though it certainly isn't from lack of trying," a new voice dryly remarked from the open doorway, causing Woody to jump slightly at the sound and Kelvin to raise an amused eyebrow before turning toward the older man.

"Hey, Colville," he greeted cheerfully, wondering if he should introduce his boss to the coroner, or if it might be just a bit too much information for the unusual man to process all at one time. In the end, the brown eyed man chose to stay silent, watching as Arthur Bridges Colville studied Shawn's tired form.

It was the older, slightly balding man's voice that eventually broke through the quiet room a few minutes later, "You _still_ haven't slept at all, have you?" Arthur asked, not bothering to address his question, knowing the recipient didn't need to be called out by name.

"Too much to do, Artie," Shawn replied quietly, "Not enough hours in the day..." he trailed off for a moment, letting his eyes slide closed, before continuing, "You finish it?"

"Yes, the information was good and we rounded up the rest of them less than an hour ago," he answered, firing back a question of his own, "You _sure _you don't want a ride home?"

"Naw, I'm good, and I'm not really sure I can move from this spot...even if I wanted to," the consultant said after a moment, yawning without bothering to open his eyes.

Kelvin and Arthur exchanged a look before silently stepping into the hallway, leaving Woody and Shawn in the room, Kelvin quietly asking, "When was the last time he slept?" gesturing toward Shawn.

"Early Tuesday from what I've been able to drag out of him," the other man replied seriously.

"But it's..." the brown eyed man said incredulously, only to be cut off by his boss.

"5 am on Friday? I know, which is why I sent him down here hours ago, hoping he'd crash," Arthur grumbled with a sigh, knowing that nothing was ever easy as far as Shawn Spencer was concerned.

"Do you think we really should leave him in there?" Kelvin asked hesitantly, not completely comfortable with the idea of leaving the exhausted man alone after the events of the last 48 hours.

"Well, considering this place is dead other than the person we ran into at the front desk, I'd say it's as good a place as any," the older man answered, blinking when a voice came from the room they'd just left.

"Did you check the observation room?" Shawn asked, pulling the two men back into the room just as the rest of Colville's men started down the steps.

"Check it for _what_?" Kelvin asked, giving his friend a confused look.

"For everyone that is probably supposed to be out in the bullpen right now," he answered tiredly, "The Chief, Lassie, Jules, maybe even Nabby, my dad and Gus..." Shawn trailed off, his eyes still mostly closed when he saw the other two agents Artie had brought with him, the real Vinnie McVitie, between them stop just to the left of the door.

"You ready to go, boss?" Kelvin asked, not liking the smug look on his 'twin's' face, and, knowing the thug's reputation of getting under people's skin, he wanted to go before the muscular man decided to cause any trouble with his friend.

Shawn shifted in his seat, making as if he was about to get to his feet, catching the attention of the handcuffed man and causing him to visibly recoil and attempt to back up in the iron clad grip of the two federal agents, much to the surprise of almost all of the room's occupants. "Seriously...What the hell is _he _doing here?!" Vinnie shrieked, any trace of the superior demeanor from a moment ago gone, replaced by sheer terror, "I mean it, keep that **_psycho_** away from me!"

"Yeah, I think it's definitely time to go, Sinclair," Arthur answered, recovering first as he motioned for the two agents to lead the way, before following them down the hallway.

"Well, you certainly managed to scare the bejesus outta him during your little chat," Kelvin remarked curiously once the shaggy haired man was completely out of sight. "What exactly did you **_do _**to that guy?"

Shawn simply gave him a deadpan look for a few heartbeats before calmly responding, "Are you sure you _really _want to know?"

The brown eyed man nodded in understanding, softly remarking, "Probably not, but I always _knew_ there was a reason not to get on your bad side, man," giving Shawn a small wave as he turned and headed down the hallway, hustling to catch up with his boss.

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Reviews are love, love and more love...33333


	4. Truth be Told I've Tried my best, but

"Does anyone have even the _first_ clue about **_what_** just happened in there?" Gus asked incredulously, his voice slicing through the thick silence in the observation room as he felt, rather than saw, everyone's focus slowly shift to his question, his eyes never leaving his best friend's form. He had absolutely no problem understanding the discombobulation prominent in the small space, but for some reason, of everything he'd just witnessed, it the wise guy's _reaction_ that had affected him the most, striking a chord deep in the recesses of the salesman's memory, though he couldn't for the life of him recall exactly what was giving him the almost overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

_Mr. Spencer would be the hardest person to read,_ Gus mused as he watched Shawn continue to fiddle with something small as he leaned over the table, showing no signs of succumbing to sleep, even though it was desperately needed. _Chief Vick isn't likely to hire us for the next week to make up for all of this, _he continued, knowing the woman was likely to send every last person in the two rooms home with strict orders not to return before a certain time, _An order that Shawn will completely disregard if the notion strikes him…_But, considering the way the consultant had reacted to his girlfriend's disappearance, the dark skinned man would almost bet that this was one order that Shawn would actually follow.

A slight movement reminded Gus of the room's final two occupants as he briefly glanced to the tall officer in the left hand corner of the room, noting the stunned look that seemed to be permanently etched on Buzz's face, before moving on to the department's head detective, doing a double take at the ever changing play of emotions on the lanky man's face.

The salesman's ears were suddenly assaulted with a barrage of overlapping denials as the other occupants of the room seemed to find their tongues and all spoke at once, but it was Juliet's voice that carried over the din and captured his attention. "I don't know, Gus," she admitted as she slowly stood up from her chair and headed for the door, vowing, "That just mean's I'm _damn_ sure going to find out—NOW," leaving the others staring after her.

"You know, Jules," Shawn said, causing Woody to start from his place by the wall, mumble a few intelligible words, and rush out the door, just as the blonde reached the metal frame. Her boyfriend's comforting tone had her breathing the first sigh of relief since this whole fiasco had begun, because, even without a single question being answered, somehow Juliet had a much easier time making sense of the idea that he somehow orchestrated this entire thing, instead of him simply snapping under the pressure. "You _really_ should have let Lassie take you to the hospital like he's been nagging you about for the last five hours…" Shawn immediately trailed off when he watched her eyes narrow dangerously, holding up his hands in defeat as he mumbled, "I'm just saying," hoping not to see all the glory that was his enraged girlfriend directed at him.

The other members of the group, once somewhat recovered from Juliet's announcement, had wasted no time converging on the interrogation room, each one determined to be the first one to enter. Gus, after dodging several well placed elbows, had just managed to get near the front as another thought occurred to him, causing him to stop in his tracks, much to the annoyance of the people behind him. _I know where I've seen a reaction like that before…_Ignoring the irate head detective that led the way to pushing past him into the room, Gus followed as he continued his tirade. "You did the same thing to Vinny McVitie that you did to Joey Mactire in our freshman year, didn't you, Shawn," his tone making it crystal clear that his words weren't a question so much as an outright accusation.

"We didn't go to high school with the worst member of New Kids on the Block, Gus," the consultant shot back, a confused look crossing his features at the very idea.

"That's Joey McIntyre, and **_no_** you haven't heard it both ways, Shawn," the salesman insisted as he took a few steps forward, "Joey Mactire was the bully who used to torment me all through high school…Except one day he suddenly stopped," Gus continued, giving his friend an unreadable look, "In fact, he wouldn't come within 30 feet of me after that."

"See," Shawn responded, hoping to distract the dark skinned man, not wanting to get into _that_ particular issue just now, "You took care of it all on your own, buddy," he paused as he tried his best to suppress a yawn. "I didn't have anything to do with that…Besides, we haven't seen him since high school, so what's the big deal?" _Guess I'm not gonna get that nap…_he thought, trying to keep his eyes from sliding closed, _The last thing I need is a lecture about falling asleep __**during**__ a lecture._

"I ran into him in the grocery store _last __**week**_, Shawn!" Gus pushed on, amazed that the others hadn't tried to butt in yet, but not willing to question it. "And the strangest thing happened, the minute he saw me, he got this look of sheer panic on his face before he literally ducked down the closest aisle! But he wasn't looking where he was going and knocked over an entire display of stacked pineapple that was on the endcap, so don't even start to claim that you didn't say anything to him." Then the two men exchanged a look before Shawn spoke up.

"Not the international welcome fruit!" He bemoaned with as much energy as he could muster not at all surprised when someone else cut into the conversation.

"Damn it, Shawn!" Henry exclaimed in exasperation when it became apparent that his son wasn't going to come forward with an explanation on his own. "It's _way_ past time to clue the rest of us in on just _what_ happened here…"

"When we got the call that Jules and Cynthia had been taken, I knew I had to do _something_," Shaw began, leaving his entire audience wondering if the consultant might _actually_ be **_capable_** of giving a decent explanation, only for their hopes to be dashed by his next statement. "So, I found out," the hazel eyed man continued as he pinched his nose, "That McVitie, Shivinski right hand man, was telling the Feds, who he had somehow been picked up by, that he wanted out," glossing over several details in a hope to get through this before collapsing from sheer exhaustion. "But, it turned out the only way he was willing to cooperate was if Shivinski thought he was dead…So I killed him," Shawn finished, knowing just _how_ many gaping holes he'd left in the retelling, but still vainly hoping that someone in the room would notice just how spent he really was, and let him wrap this whole thing up tomorrow.

"How did the FBI even _get_ involved in the first place?" Lassiter demanded the same time that Buzz asked, "But why did they replace McVitie with an agent in the building if he was willing to cooperate? Wouldn't it have been safer to send him in there?" and Henry stepped forward.

"Why all the secrecy, Kid?" his dad cut in, voicing the question that was weighing heavily on everyone else's mind as he leaned against the wall. "Why not just tell us what the hell was going on so we could _help_ you?"

"Well…" Shawn answered after a few moments, his voice breaking into a massive yawn as he wished one final time for that nap he knew wasn't going to be coming any time even remotely soon. _Too bad everyone has decided to be completely oblivious, and insist on doing the interrogation __**now**_, he thought _Three very complex questions, and any __**one**__of them could potentially take all morning to answer…How in the world do I find the energy to tackle all three?_ He wondered as every set of eyes stayed focused on him. Just as he opened his mouth in an attempt to formulate _some_ semblance of an answer, another voice spoke up from the doorway.

"We knew we only had one shot at this," Arthur Colville remarked from the doorway, "If the boss didn't believe McVitie was dead, and figured out that he had turned on him, then we _all_ were screwed, and in order for Shivinski to be _completely_ convinced that he wasn't being played, but that instead Shawn had snapped and gone over the edge, you **_all_** had to be convinced he had," giving the group a telling look to forestall anyone who might decide to butt in. "Every one of you can tell me _now_ that you would have been able to play the part convincingly," he continued in a tone that brooked no argument, "But the fact remained that we had the daughter of one of the city's most prominent families, as well as a respected detective, go missing from an extremely public location…With absolutely no ransom demand or other contact, which caused our options to rapidly dwindle to almost nothing. And," Arthur pushed on, "If you didn't like this plan, then you most _definitely_ would've hated the first 24 that were pitched." Then he paused for a few heartbeats to let this information sink in before tackling the second of the three questions that he'd overheard while lurking outside the door.

"Why didn't we allow McVitie to play himself at the showdown?" Coleville hesitated after he repeated the inquiry, glancing around the room. "At first we _were_ going to do just that," he admitted, ticking off two points on his fingers, "Because then there was no chance that anyone might realize he was a fraud, or of an imposter tripping up while in the situation."

"Then why did you decide to replace him?" Buzz asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Because **_someone_** wasn't convinced that McVitie's story checked out, and wouldn't let up until I finally caved," Arthur grumbled, ignoring Shawn's almost unintelligible response that was immediately drowned out by Lassiter.

"What I want to know is _how_ did your organization get involved in the **_first_** place?!" the head detective demanded, his irate tone changing the moment his eyes met the chief's, causing him to struggle to rephrase his outburst. "Um…I meant, the information would be quite helpful for the report that I'm going to be filling out…"

"Our organization makes it our priority to find out things," Colville answered cryptically, not backing down an inch under the lanky man's intense look.

"Weren't you supposed to be leaving?" Shawn finally remarked, his voice laden with suspicion as he eyed the man warily, not at all liking what his continued presence might mean.

Arthur raised one eyebrow as he answered, "McVitie's still on his way to prison, so don't look at me like that, but I _know_ you, Spencer, **_and_** your penchant for finding trouble easier than a squirrel hoards nuts, so I couldn't leave before making sure you weren't _really_ alone in this building," his tone reminding the others about incidents where Shawn hadn't hesitated about jumping head first into danger. "Besides," he continued in a scolding tone, "I figured I might have to resort to physical measures to get you to rest," shooting the seated man a look before turning back to the rest of the group, "But I somehow figured the rest of you were sensible enough to let this wait until _tomorrow_," he finished, his lecture making the small group feel more like children than the professionals they were.

"As for why…" Arthur stated before trailing off with a shrug, making it clear that he'd said all he was going to on the subject and that it would be up to Shawn to get into the details of just how he was associated with the FBI if he so chose.

After a few moment of hesitation, the hazel eyed man looked back to the rest of the group, "It didn't add up," he murmured into the silent room, avoiding the question as he reasoned something out, "He was making such a big deal about wanting out of the business, but the moment any part of his story was challenged," Shawn paused as he shared a look with the Federal Agent that left the others at a loss, "The man wasn't able to keep the facts straight, and kept tripping over his lies, so I figure he has to be up to something…And then it hits me," the consultant went on, leaning back in his chair, "What better way to throw the feds off than to feed them a load of fake information that would keep them chasing shadows while his boss carried on business as usual?"

Shawn let the question hang in the interrogation room, not at all surprised when it was Buzz who spoke up first, "So, he was planning to string the officials along, without actually giving any helpful information, and _that's_ why McVitie wasn't in the warehouse," he reasoned out with a smile, before another thought occurred to him. Turning toward Arthur, the tall officer asked, "But, then how did you make sure you got the correct information about where O'Hara and little Cynthia were being held?"

"Shawn managed that," a familiar voice piped up from the doorway, even though no one recognized the man standing there. "But no one else was present, so we haven't the foggiest idea just what he _did_ to obtain it," giving the hazel eyed man a speaking look before continuing, "If I had to hazard a guess from nothing more than McVitie's reaction…" the blue eyed man let the sentence trail off when the consultant let out a loud sigh in the space.

"Seriously, Kelvin?" Shawn asked the stranger, causing the other occupants to do a double take as varying degrees of realization crossed their features, "You're **_both_** still here?" rubbing his hands over his eyes, "Don't you people have homes to go to?"

_Wow, he certainly cleans up nicely, _Juliet thought in wonder as she studied the newcomer, knowing that if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have had a hard time believing the blonde haired, blue eyed man at the door was the same one who'd walked out of this room less than an hour ago with long, shaggy brown hair, wearing a blood spattered suit.

"Yep, I'm still here, bro," Kelvin answered with a cheeky grin, "You think I was going to let my boss have _all_ the fun? Besides," he continued without missing a beat, "Even as wiped as you are, would you ever really think I was going to miss out on the chance to learn how you do _any_ of the things that I've seen you do over the years? And," the agent pushed on before anyone could butt into his monologue, "To top it all off, I wanna see-" abruptly falling silent when Coleville cleared his throat purposefully.

"We've taken up enough of your time," the fed spoke up suddenly, giving the agent a fierce look, "And we have stacks of our own paperwork to wade through before our day is over," grabbing hold of Kelvin by the arm and heading toward the door at a fast clip, in hopes that the blonde would keep his mouth shut.

"Man, you totally need to let me know what she says," Kelvin stage whispered as Arthur dragged him toward the stairs, loudly shushing the agent. "What?! I still think she's…"

"Alright," Chief Vick announced, making her first statement since entering the room, "It's early and most of us have to be back here and functioning in a few hours," looking completely worn out despite the positive outcome of the last few days.

_It must have been extremely hard on her, _Juliet thought in sudden realization, _Iris must be close in age to Cynthia_, opening her mouth only to be cut off by the department's other blonde.

_"Not_ you, O'Hara," Vick stressed, "Both you and Mr. Spencer are not to show your faces in this building until later tomorrow, do I make myself clear?" Waiting for every one of the room's occupants to agree before exiting the bare room, calling over her shoulder, "We're going to have a busy day, so Carlton, both you and McNab need to go home and get some rest, and don't be back here until eleven."

"McNab! You heard the chief," Lassiter declared as he herded the tall officer out of the room with nothing more than a look, leaving Gus, Shawn, Juliet and Henry in the space.

"C'mon, Gus," the elder Spencer stated a few moments later, drawing the dark skinned man's attention away from the couple, "I think those two need a little bit of privacy," he continued at a lower volume as he led Gus toward the stairs. _God knows the kid'll be lucky to get off with just a lecture from Juliet, _Henry thought, not a trace of doubt in his mind that he would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed, _Might have been better off dealing with the whole group at once…_

"So," Juliet asked when they were finally alone, walking toward the table as her steps grew heavy. "You going to give me _some_ idea what your friend was talking about before he left?"

"He was trying to make sure I didn't do something stupid," Shawn answered quietly, capturing his girlfriend's hand once she came close enough and coaxing her to sit down on his lap. "But, what he didn't realize," he continued as he held her close, resting his head atop her blonde locks, "Is the _only_ stupid thing I **_could_** have done was _not_ find you because, though it took me forever to realize it, I _need_ you to be **_me_**…" For a few heartbeats they simply sat there before Shawn continued, "And that the cost of losing you is so much more than I could bear…I can honestly say that I've never even remotely felt that way about anyone before, Jules." It took a few moments to realize that he hadn't gotten a response to his declaration, and as he was worrying that she'd fallen asleep on him, she suddenly spoke.

"Just so you know, the answer is going to be yes…" Juliet answered sleepily, snuggling closer to Shawn's steady heartbeat.

"But I haven't even asked you," he responded, thinking about the ring he'd been carrying around for the last few weeks, "How do you know?"

"You didn't have to," Juliet shot back, suppressing a yawn, "Because your actions speak so much louder than words…Just don't ever scare me like that again."

"I'll do my best," Shawn assured her, before continuing, "But when it comes to you, Jules, all bets are off…"

* * *

**And there you have it, the final chapter of Cost...that fought me every step of the way...hope you enjoyed it, so please read and review :)**


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